


Wearing Thin

by LyriaBlackFrost



Series: Gladnis Week 2018 [1]
Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Alt Verse, Angst, Gladio is tired of it, Gladnis Week, Hurt/Comfort, Ignis neglects his own health, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-20
Updated: 2018-08-20
Packaged: 2019-06-30 00:06:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,423
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15740055
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LyriaBlackFrost/pseuds/LyriaBlackFrost
Summary: After Noctis entered the crystal, Ignis’ obsession with defeating Ardyn becomes worse than ever, to the point Gladio isn’t just worried about his health, but also about their relationship.Day 1: "The one where one of them tries to make the other take a break“ for the Gladnis week 2018.





	Wearing Thin

Few things on Eos annoyed Gladio as much as Ignis Scientia.

No, it wasn’t because of his sarcastic sense of humor, or his stupidly sexy accent, or that perfect ass, or even how gorgeous his eyes were behind his glasses. No, he was way over his teenage days of hating Ignis over those details and just accepted that some people were blessed by nature. Furthermore, he was grateful that all of that goodness was _his_ goodness, and loved each and every aspect of that man…

But he couldn’t stand how he never seemed to take a break.

It only became worse after his confrontation with Ardyn. As if almost killing himself with the ring of Lucii hadn’t been enough, he was now obsessed with preparing the world for the battle they would inevitably face as soon as Noctis came back.

 _Noct_ … His absence made everything harder. Ignis avoided touching the subject, but Gladio knew how much he missed the brat — and, to be honest, he did too. After such a long time with the four of them spending almost every moment of every passing day together, being suddenly reduced to three had been a shock. And Ignis, who had acted as an older brother to him since childhood, had it worse than anyone.

Gladio entered the room without knocking, because he knew that would piss him off — _serves him right for being stubborn_. As expected, Ignis was sitting in front of his desk, surrounded by an intimidating pile of documents, and pretended not to notice him. Gladio approached him, standing behind his chair, glancing at the detailed report from Lestallum he was reading. Looking at it was enough to make him feel exhausted.

“Iggy…” he said in his sweetest tone, placing his hands on Ignis’ shoulders. “Don’t you think you should take a break?”

“There’s no need,” the answer didn’t surprise him. “But I’ll gladly accept a cup of coffee.”

Gladio furrowed his brow. It wasn’t unusual for Ignis to drink coffee, but…

“You’ll end up dying like this,” he said. “I’m serious, this much caffeine can’t be good for your health. Are you sure you still have blood in your veins, by this point?”

“I certainly hope so.”

For someone who was always fussing over them, he sure was good at neglecting his own needs.

“C’mon, just rest for a few hours.”

“I’m fine, don’t worry.”

That stubbornness was starting to get on his nerves.

“Ignis, I swear…” his tone became more serious. “If you don’t take a damn break, I will tie you to the bed.”

“Isn’t it a bit early to be having kinky thoughts, Gladiolus?”

“Don’t you start being sassy on me.” He leaned forward, taking that report from Ignis’ hands, proceeding in a softer voice: “Just for a few hours, it’s all I’m asking.”

Ignis stayed silent for a moment, considering his options.

“Fair enough,” he said. “It’s not like I’ll get anything done with you distracting me, anyway.”

Gladio smiled, giving him a brief kiss on the face.

“Good,” he said. “Just sleep, I’ll come wake you later.”

Ignis didn’t answer, walking to his bed. Gladio waited until he lay down and closed the door. When he came back, an hour later, Ignis was already back at his desk. He considered starting another discussion about that behavior, but gave up, leaving the room in silence.

 

* * *

 

For the next months, Gladio tried to keep it to himself, respect Ignis’ way of doing things and avoiding a possible confront. But, instead of it getting better, Ignis started to neglect his own health even more. He had lost weight, and slept just the bare minimum during the night. Gladio thought that, if they weren’t living together, it would be even worse, since many times he was the one insisting that Ignis took a short break, or even reminding him that he hadn’t eaten in almost ten hours. He feared that, at such rate, he would end up sick, or worse.

And, honestly, he couldn’t take that situation anymore.

“Iggy,” he said, standing beside his chair.

“Yes?” Ignis raised his eyes to him.

Gladio took a deep breath. He knew it wouldn’t be easy.

“This needs to stop,” he said.

“What are you talking about?”

“You know what I’m talking about. I let you do whatever you wanted, and, as a result, you’ve been getting more and more careless about yourself.”

“Gladio, please…”

“No, I won’t back down this time, because I’m tired of seeing you act like this. You don’t even look like yourself anymore!”

Ignis didn’t answer for a while, and when he did, his voice was low.

“Are you breaking up with me?”

That question hurt Gladio more than he thought possible.

“Of course not,” he said. “I’m just worried about—”

“Gladio…” Ignis interrupted him, not looking at his face. “I’ll understand if you’re tired of this. I know it’s not being easy for you to be with me, and I won’t blame you if you think it’s… better like this.”

Gladio just looked at him, unable to believe he had just heard those words. It made him feel a sudden anger grow within himself: was it that simple to him? Could he just end it, as easily as that?

“Is this what you want?” he asked in a low, serious tone.

“This is bigger than what I want,” answered Ignis. “Bigger than me, or you, or anything else.”

He took a deep breath, looking Gladio in the eyes.

“Sorry, but this isn’t something that will change.”

Gladio slammed his fist against the table.

“And I’m supposed to just leave and wait until someone tells me you went and killed yourself while I was away?” he asked in a loud tone. “Do you really think I’d do something like that? It might mean nothing to you Ignis, but it’s important to me! You’re important to me!”

Ignis closed his eyes, clenching his teeth. His silence just made Gladio angrier.

“You keep saying this to yourself,” proceeded Gladio, “that you’re doing this for the greater good, or any bullshit like that. And I’ll stay here, making sure you don’t cross the fucking line, because apparently you can’t do it yourself! Do you think Noct would’ve wanted any of this?”

Ignis stood up, facing Gladio with enraged eyes.

“Noctis is not here!” he screamed at him. “Am I supposed to do nothing until he comes back? And then just watch as we lose him again?”

“I never said that,” retorted Gladio. “But do you think driving yourself to the limit will help Noct in any way?”

“I saw him dying, Gladio! I can’t let this happen! I can’t—”

Ignis voice cracked, and it was like something he had been concealing within himself had finally broken free. He covered his mouth with his hand but couldn’t hold back a loud sob. Tears left his eyes, and he sat on the floor, burying his face in both hands, weeping. Gladio just watched for a moment, taken aback. He never saw Ignis crying so much, not even after what he went through in Altissia. All the anger vanished from his chest as he knelt down beside his partner.

“Iggy…”

Gladio first touched his shoulder, and seeing that Ignis didn’t reject his touch, hugged him, holding him against his chest.

“I know it’s hard,” he whispered. “I miss him too, every single day. But Noct needs you, alive and well. We all do,” he made a brief pause. “Especially me.”

“But what if this isn’t enough?” asked Ignis. “What if I don’t do everything I can, and I lose him for that? I can’t, Gladio… I can’t.”

“But you don’t have to carry all this burden yourself,” he said. “That’s why I’m here. And Prompto, and Iris, and Cor, and everyone. We’re all fighting for Noct. We won’t let anything bad happen to him. You’re not alone in this, Iggy, so, please, stop acting like you are.”

Ignis didn’t answer for a long time, and Gladio didn’t rush him.

“I’m sorry…” he finally said. “It seems I’m not dealing with this as well as I thought.”

“It’s alright,” Gladio placed a light kiss on his forehead. “Just let us help you.”

Ignis agreed with a nod. He didn’t move away from Gladio, who stayed there, comforting him as he could, reminding him that, no matter what happened, he would be there for him. For everything he needed, until the very end.

And, if Ignis didn’t believe him, he’d just have to prove him wrong.

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first Gladnis fic and I don't know what happened to it... It was supposed to be silly and fluffy, but I made Iggy cry. Oh, well... There'll be enough fluff on the following days.  
> I hope you enjoyed it! :)


End file.
